The case was detected in a Saudi man who returned from a North African country, Saudi Arabia’s state news agency SPA reported, citing an official at the Health Ministry.

The official did not name that country.

Earlier, oil-rich Saudi Arabia had  banned flights to and from several African countries amid fears of the spread of Omicron.

The Omicron strain has been classified as a “variant of concern’’ by the World Health Organisation (WHO) amid fears that it is more transmissible, although much remains unclear.